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Endeavour unfurls giant antenna
May 20, 1996
Web posted at: 1:50 p.m. EDTSPACE CENTER, Houston (CNN) -- A parachute-shaped antenna inflated to the size of a tennis court outside the space shuttle Endeavour Monday in an experiment scientists hope will aid future missions. (600K QuickTime movie)
However, there was a glitch. After being launched, the antenna rotated more than scientists expected. They said such erratic motion would have to be eliminated before other spacecrafts could be equipped with inflatable antennas.Astronaut Mario Runco Jr., maneuvering the shuttle's 50-foot-long robot arm, hoisted the Spartan satellite that contained the experimental antenna from the cargo bay and set it free 180 miles above Australia.
Commander John Casper then backed Endeavour to a safe 400-foot distance. About two hours later, doors on the satellite swung open and nitrogen gas quickly flowed into the Mylar antenna, which automatically unfurled (370K QuickTime movie). It is about 50 feet in diameter.
"It's a pretty spectacular view from down here," Mission Control said. After about 1.5 hours, Endeavour moved another 2,600 feet away, and the shiny silver antenna was jettisoned from the satellite.
ENDEAVOUR LINKS
Endeavour launch a success - Shockwave version
The antenna was expected to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and burn up early Tuesday. It may be possible to see the antenna from the southern half of the United States and elsewhere in the world at sunrise and sunset.
U.S. and Canadian astronauts plan to retrieve the empty antenna carrier on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they will eject a satellite the size of a small garbage can to study its stability.
NASA hopes to prove the viability of inflatable antennas in space through the $14 million experiment. Such antennas are cheaper, lighter and easier to assemble than conventional systems.
The last time shuttle astronauts flew an inflatable object, a rendezvous target in 1984, it burst. Engineers built vents into the Endeavour device to help prevent such a problem.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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